Happy New Year, GiGi’s Playhouse Chicago!
Written by: Warner Hellyer, GiGi's Playhouse Chicago Marketing Committee Member We are so excited for this New Year and all that it will bring for our Playhouse. At this year's Board Retreat, our Board of Managers and Staff had the opportunity to sit down, think critically and dream up...
What Has Teen Tastic Been Up to This Year?
Written by Alexis Downes, Alexis Nacht, and Giovanna Savastano – Teen Tastic Group Leaders & Master’s Students in Occupational Therapy at University of Illinois at Chicago As we all know, this year has looked quite different than years in the past. However, Teen Tastic has resumed online and GiGi's...
Holiday Recipes from Cooking Club
Written by: University of Illinois at Chicago Occupational Therapy Students Justyna Falat, Emily Betz, and Kaily Nagel It’s been an exciting year at GiGi’s Cooking Club! When we volunteered to lead the group, we never could have anticipated all of the changes that would take place in 2020, but we...
Look What You Did in 2020!
Dear Friends, We hope this message reaches you safe and well! 2020 has been a year of challenges and opportunities. Perseverance and determination have kept us going and we are excited to keep this energy going into 2021. When the pandemic hit in mid-March, we had to shut down in-person programs...
This Week in EPIC
Written by: Emily Chun, Doctoral Student in Occupational Therapy at Rush University This week in EPIC, we worked on identifying and setting goals. To do this, we used a strategy called GOAL-PLAN-DO-CHECK. Each participant set a goal, made a plan on how they were going to achieve that goal, did...
Empowering Young Adults with Down Syndrome through the EPIC Work Readiness Group
By: Julia Andrews, Marissa Iacullo, Jessie Jarosz, Leah Schneider This past fall, we have had the pleasure of leading an EPIC: Work Readiness Group at GiGi’s Playhouse, as a part of our Group Dynamics course at Rush University. Over the course of 6 weeks, we aimed to increase participant’s work...
Staying Connected with Friends and Family: Fun Virtual Activities to Try at Home This Holiday Season
By Megan Beiler, OTS, Grace Hoak, OTS, Abigail Peters, OTS, & Kellie Reynolds, OTS Rush University Occupational Therapy Department This fall, we had the opportunity to run a six-week virtual EPIC social skills group for young adults at GiGi’s Playhouse Chicago. As 2nd year occupational therapy students at Rush...
How to Watch & Participate in the Dance-A-Thon
The biggest dance party of the year is almost here and we want to give you all the details on how to best enjoy, watch and participate in this years virtual Get Down with Down Syndrome Dance-A-Thon! What to do this Saturday, November 14th: 1. At 1:00 pm CDT, head...
Dance-A-Thon Registration – Step by Step
Still unsure on how to register for the GiGi's Playhouse Chicago 6th Annual Get Down with Down Syndrome Dance-A-Thon?... Follow the step by step instructions below and register HERE Purchase raffle tickets HERE For any further questions, please email us at chicago@gigisplayhouse.org
Backed by Berman
This summer, Berman Subaru of Chicago reached out to GiGi’s Playhouse Chicago to extend an invitation of support and partnership during COVID-19. Together we came up with the idea of creating tutoring kits for our participants that were enrolled in virtual math and literacy tutoring, an amazing opportunity to meet...
A Letter from Sunny – Occupational Therapy Intern
This past summer, I have had the pleasure of serving as an intern at GiGi’s Playhouse Chicago as a part of my occupational therapy doctoral capstone experience. Over the course of my experience here, I have been welcomed with open arms by the staff, board members and volunteers. As I...
GiGi’s Summer of Art
This summer, GiGi’ Playhouse Chicago is collaborating with artists within the Midwest and Texas to create art with GiGi’s Playhouse heart in mind. Through this collaboration, we are able to continue to provide support to our amazing families with the resources GiGi’s Playhouse Chicago provides. With that, we have been...
